The Anatomy of a Great Infographic

For centuries infographics have been used to convey information in an easy to digest manner. Infographics know no bounds of culture, from maps and diagrams to hieroglyphics and cave paintings, infographics are ubiquitous and necessary throughout history. Today you see good, as well as bad, infographics all over the internet. Their topics can cover serious matter such as global health needs, and not so serious matters like the history of the toilet. An infographics goal is to tell a story in a visual way, and can be educational, humorous, and creative. A good infographics takes time and effort to create. So what makes a good infographic actually good?

First, you must have a story to tell and data to help you tell it. Reliable and compelling data must be turned into interesting information that conveys the key message. An infographic creator should be able to defend their data, because 85% of of the population of Iceland says making up stats is bad. (But 100% of the population of Greenland says that 85% of the population of Iceland are liars, so where do we stand?) Visualization of the data makes an infographic compelling and gives it the appeal necessary to convince people to read it. If a reader likes the infographic, and they can connect to the story, they will be more likely to share the infographic. The more shareability an infographic is, the more likely it is that a wide audience will see it. As marketing becomes more geared toward social media, sharebility is increasingly important. Bad infographics are poorly planned out and fail to communicate with data and an interesting story. They also fail to visualize the data in a compelling manner.

In 1975, Professor Edward Tufte of Princeton was credited with creating what is considered to be the first modern infographic, To learn more about the elements that go into the creation of a compelling infographic, read more below.